Question Random FPS drops in every game following a usage drop in GPU

[Nadav6565]

Hello everyone , I have this problem in my pc for years now and I want to put a stop to it.

Fps drops in this case from a 150 to 10 for 1 second creating a stutter, it happens in every game unrelated to the settings (they can make it less bad but never solve it)

The problem also gets worse when the computer in on for a while and a restart helps it, but its always there.

I have recently replaced both CPU and GPU thermal paste.

My pc is very old but holds up well for all I want to do with it except these drop which ruin ever game I play from OW to even 2D indie games which aren't very demanding .

I'll add below all my specs in game from HWMonitor while the game is running in the background, from searching online I haven't found anything outstanding.

I had a ram error a while back but I replaced both sticks and cleaned the sockets and it seems fine now, the problem started right there tho.

The computer itself is pretty clean and no major dust lumps are seen anywhere.

I've tried moving a game to the ssd which seems to have done nothing/

Thank you in advance I hope ill find a solution.

 

[RodroX]

Hi, if I were to take a guess, I would said (new thermal paste or not), those max. 87°C on the CPU are not great.

What are you using to cool it down ? (Im almost sure what your answer will be)

 

[Nadav6565]

Basic heatsink and a fan

 

[Nadav6565]

How can I make it better?

 

[RodroX]

Basic heatsink and a fan

How can I make it better?

Well, first of all Im not 100% sure this is the issue related to your stutter, but in any case, while gaming you should not see that max temp.

And usually stutters are realted to the CPU. Then again, Im not sure this is the case considering we are talking about Indie Games and somehow oldish system.

Anyways, your CPU goes into a socket which is called: "FCLGA1150", so you would have to look for a compatible cooler with socket LGA1150.

Heres a list of compatible coolers: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu-cooler/#c=24&sort=price&page=1

This is the bare minimum I would look for: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hctLrH/id-cooling-se-903-xt-458-cfm-cpu-cooler-se-903-xt-black

While this two will be the better choices:
- https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Zr8bt6/id-cooling-se-214-xt-argb-682-cfm-cpu-cooler-se-214-xt-argb
- https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Wf...se-rgb-v2-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ax120r-se-v2-d6

Those are examples, it doesn't need to have RGB leds, and also you have to be 100% it will fit inside your case.

The first one is the smaller 92mm fan, while the other two are 120mmm fans, so they are higher and may collide with your side panel. On the other hand they will cool you CPU better.

If your curent cooler is the one shown on the next video, then any of this kind of coolers will be better:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv6mETRkTCU

 

[Nadav6565]

Thanks ill look into it, it is the cooler I own. I dont think its the cause of the stutters tho, maybe you have any another idea?

 

[RodroX]

Thanks ill look into it, it is the cooler I own. I dont think its the cause of the stutters tho, maybe you have any another idea?

Well if the usage graphs you showed were during game play, then you can clearly see that the GPU usage goes down to around 18%.

So, besisdes CPU throttling down because of temp, I can think about:
- OS/Drivers/Malware/etc. issues.
- GPU VRAM running out, and so the GPU needs to start swapping data between it and the system RAM
- High CPU utilization, meaning your CPU can no longer keep up to the GPU needs (I can not see that in the graphs you posted, cause it may only be just 1 single core at 100% what cause the stutter). On the other hand you can read the sensor where it said the CPU was at 105% utilization at some point, and thats not good for gaming.
- Game related stuff, the game is very bad optimized and so it does stutter every now and then.

Lots of things could be wrong and even a combination of them may be the issue. Hard to point out exactly what is it.

Did you check on google that game you play to see if others are having ther same issues?

 

[MEMOFLEX]

Hello everyone , I have this problem in my pc for years now and I want to put a stop to it.

Fps drops in this case from a 150 to 10 for 1 second creating a stutter, it happens in every game unrelated to the settings (they can make it less bad but never solve it)

The problem also gets worse when the computer in on for a while and a restart helps it, but its always there.

I have recently replaced both CPU and GPU thermal paste.

My pc is very old but holds up well for all I want to do with it except these drop which ruin ever game I play from OW to even 2D indie games which aren't very demanding .

I'll add below all my specs in game from HWMonitor while the game is running in the background, from searching online I haven't found anything outstanding.

I had a ram error a while back but I replaced both sticks and cleaned the sockets and it seems fine now, the problem started right there tho.

The computer itself is pretty clean and no major dust lumps are seen anywhere.

I've tried moving a game to the ssd which seems to have done nothing/

Thank you in advance I hope ill find a solution.

Some of those motherboard temperatures look extreme too. I can 2 of the sensors reading 127C which is that high I am unsure of they are false readings!

 

[Nadav6565]

Some of those motherboard temperatures look extreme too. I can 2 of the sensors reading 127C which is that high I am unsure of they are false readings!

I noticed that but was unsure what can I do with it. 127C seems extreme so I assumed it was false reading

 

[Nadav6565]

Well if the usage graphs you showed were during game play, then you can clearly see that the GPU usage goes down to around 18%.

So, besisdes CPU throttling down because of temp, I can think about:
- OS/Drivers/Malware/etc. issues.
- GPU VRAM running out, and so the GPU needs to start swapping data between it and the system RAM
- High CPU utilization, meaning your CPU can no longer keep up to the GPU needs (I can not see that in the graphs you posted, cause it may only be just 1 single core at 100% what cause the stutter). On the other hand you can read the sensor where it said the CPU was at 105% utilization at some point, and thats not good for gaming.
- Game related stuff, the game is very bad optimized and so it does stutter every now and then.

Lots of things could be wrong and even a combination of them may be the issue. Hard to point out exactly what is it.

Did you check on google that game you play to see if others are having ther same issues?

how can I know the exact problem? and its not a game specific problem, it happens in every game

 

[MEMOFLEX]

I noticed that but was unsure what can I do with it. 127C seems extreme so I assumed it was false reading

OK so from looking around these are auxiliary sensors which are likely not connected and so do give a false reading. It seems this will apply to all your AUXTIN readings which explains why they do not move temperature at all. Apologies for setting any alarm bells off

 

[RodroX]

how can I know the exact problem? and its not a game specific problem, it happens in every game

Testing. There are many ways, some involve changing components, others involve using better software to read sensors and the information that you need.

For example, if I wana know if a game is cpu limited I would:

1. Try at higher detail settings / higher resolution, not sure this will work on your case, since the GPU is already at 100% all the time.
2. Use a software like MSI afterburner + Rivatuner, that way I can set the info I wana see and display it over the game (for example, each and every cpu cpore usage), I could even record the data to compared later (for example the GPU and CPU usage when stutter happends). There are lots of videos and tutorials on internet on how to do this.
3. Keep in mind, whatever you do when testing, use only 1 monitor software, if you are runing hwmonitor, don't use anything else. if you are using MSI Afterburner + Rivatuner, then don't run hwmonitor, nor the Windows monitoring software in the bakcground. And so on.
4. Make sure you have a copy of your current GPU driver installer, and then download and install the newest version to test,

Sadly what you described is very open to multiple causes.